Continued from Part 1 of Silver Birch Sitting 1971 with Leslie Flint present:

“We are not so concerned with labels, titles, names, organisations or bodies as such. I do not know whether I could even call myself a Spiritualist.

‘‘What matters is that in your world, so full of darkness, difficulties and chaos, there should be in as many places as possible the lighthouses of the spirit constantly shedding their beams so that those who are in the darkness can find their way.

“Once you have the knowledge two things happen. The first is that you forge a magnetic link with our world which cannot be broken and you have access to boundless knowledge, limitless inspiration. And that is where your free will operates.

“The second is that once you are aware of the fundamental spiritual realities on which all life is based, then you should seek to become as pure a channel for that power which has changed your life so that it may perform the same beneficence in others.

“The desire to serve must be paramount and all other thoughts must give way to it. It is not self that matters but service. Those who honestly desire to serve will always be sustained however difficult the crisis which may come. The way will always be shown.

“I can say without fear of contradiction that we in our world will never fail you. But, alas, how often in your world we are failed. We will do our best. And we ask you to do your best. You are human as we are, a mixture of weakness and strength. Like us you are not perfect. The attainment of perfection is an infinite process.

“So do your best. When you fall down, pick yourself up. That is the reason for falling down so that you can get on your feet again. When you are convinced that what you are going to do is right, do it. Let those who disagree with you go their way go their way.

“If you can find more and more channels for spirit power to flow through, that is all that matters. That is the only reason for organisations, churches, societies, temples, buildings of all kinds.

“The churches have no value except that they are temples where the living spirit can be made manifest. If these buildings are worth a lot of money in your world and the power of the spirit is not there, then they are all empty mausoleums. The power of the spirit is important.

“If there are in your organisation those who are fired with the desire to serve, automatically they will attract to themselves the enfranchised beings in our world imbued with a similar aim. Together we will help those, and alas there are so many, who require that help which none other can give, them.

“We all have the great privilege of service which, I always say, is the only coin of the spirit. I know it has been repeated many times, to serve is noble, and our allegiance must always be to the Great Spirit and to the eternal natural laws through which the Great Spirit is made manifest. Does that answer you?’’

“Yes it does, thank you very much,” said Higginson only to be met with Silver Birch’s reply: ‘‘No, I never accept thanks. Let us always render our gratitude to the Great Spirit whose ministers we try to be.’’

“For a while I have looked around the churches and find some of them, I think, would be better closed. After listening, I think the aim really is to have some places where the spirit can manifest to be of help to people.”

“It is the channels we want all the time. The power of the spirit is the divinity at work. This is what you call God and I the Great Spirit. Give it a chance to manifest because it is the greatest power in the universe, divine love in action.

‘The Great Spirit is law, life and love. And love, it says in your Bible, is the fulfilling of the law. If your heart is filled with love and compassion then you can help those who come to you. But if it is filled with dissension, envy, dislike and distrust, you cannot be a channel for the power of the spirit, because these arc obstacles to its free flowing.’’

“Do you think we, as an organisation, have tended rather to follow the orthodox pattern? We confuse our people because we tend to follow the orthodox type of service. Have we to change?”

“Yes, you have to change where change is necessary. If you have the right channels the way will be shown always.’’

“You come back to the channels.”

‘‘I always do because the Great Spirit’s power can be expressed only through those gifted with the ability to express it. This is what mediumship is all about.

‘‘Mediumship is the divine gift that is conferred and this has to he expressed. As it is expressed, so it develops and becomes more fruitful. It achieves ripeness and maturity and thus you increase its capacity. The power is infinite. What has been received in your world is only an infinitesimal fraction of what is awaiting your reception. No limitation should be put on us.

Obey divine monitor

‘‘You will come through. Your organisation will survive. You will have to make changes. Do what you think is right. If you are sure that it is what your conscience, your divine monitor says, then do it and never mind what others say.

Higginson said he felt dissatisfied because many churches did not seem to have the spiritual approach. “A great deal of emphasis is placed on psychic phenomena and not on spirit teachings. Would you say this is the right approach?’’

‘‘Both are right because there is nothing wrong with phenomena as long as the standard is the highest. It is the undeveloped, the inefficient, the poor demonstrator that does the harm. If the medium, whatever the form of his manifestation, mental or physical, has attained the pitch where the presentation is efficient, that is what is wanted. Once you have any gift of the spirit expressed at its best, then there must follow the implications of these demonstrations.

‘‘You cannot convey spiritual realities to people until their eyes have been opened. This is why the demonstration is important. But once you have had the demonstration, then you should not want constantly to play with the toys. You should be ready to tread the spiritual path. Awareness must come. People have to be touched according to the stage of evolution they have reached. There is room for all your ministers.’’

“Is it possible that the failure in many cases is because we have allowed the phenomena to predominate? Some churches seem to survive only if they give a lot of messages. I am very concerned about this. It is one of the reasons why I have called a ministers’ conference.’

"The reason for the power of the spirit to flow is not to reveal what the morrow may bring. If it is necessary for you to be warned or to be helped, those close to you will see to it. If a church is to be the temple of the spirit you must discountenance the lowest and encourage the highest. If mediumship is to come down only to the psychic level then it is failing in its purpose. It must be raised to its spiritual level.

‘‘The great lesson to teach is that you can express the gifts of the spirit in an ascending process. If you are content with the lowest level, the purely psychic, then you are not evolving, you are standing still, and nature abhors a vacuum.’’

‘‘How does one get this across? Does one take a stand?’

‘‘I think it is much better for the incentive to be given and for the way to be shown. If you set a standard then others will try to follow. Those who do not will soon wither away. The power of the spirit will not continue to manifest merely for the sake of titillation.

Way will be shown

‘‘Go forward. These problems will solve themselves. You will not be left on your own. The way will be shown and help will be given. Many of your old pioneers are here because they are attracted.”

After naming some of them, Silver Birch said: ‘‘Realise that they are trying to help you, that the mighty power of the spirit is always around and about you. You are never alone.”

Now it was time to close. The guide’s final prayer came in these words: ‘‘Let us pause, let us end where we began, with the Great Spirit, infinite, without beginning and without end. Let us lift up our hearts for the benediction of love that comes to us. Let us be grateful for all the wisdom and truth and knowledge that are showered upon us.

“Let us strive to order our lives that the divine will is our will and that our hearts beat in unison with the with the great heart of the universe- that we achieve a harmony and a closeness, that we are truly at one with the overruling power, so near that we can feel the mantle of divine love is wrapped around us. The Great Spirit bless you all.”